Christmas Is…

Winter Park Playhouse

Starring Todd Allen Long

Musical Direction by Chris Leavy

Spot Light Cabaret series

Winter Park, FL

Time to break out the loud sweaters and raid the costume shop for a seasonal tie. Todd Allen Long comes out from his box office to do his holiday special in this funny and occasionally heartwarming entertainment. We start with The Grinch and end with Hallmark Holiday specials, and along the way we sample a Robert Goulet rarity “This Christmas I Spend with You,” Todd’s special version of “All I want for Christmas is…FOOD!” and then he and pianist Chris Leavy replicate the David Bowie / Bing Crosby classic “Little Drummer Boy” duo. I saw the original airing, and at the time was shocked that Bowie was on TV, shocked they he looked normal, and even more shocked when I heard how good the pair sounded. Tonight’s shining star of a song came with Todd’s very special “The 12 Shots of Christmas.” He edits out the boring parts that come after the gift of “Five Margaritas” and then skipped to the end. A tight gag is a good gag. We even took a look into his midwestern Catholic memories, thus covering all the essential holiday excess groups: Food, Booze, Love, Decorations, and Animated Holiday specials.” If you only see one Holiday Cabaret this season, here’s the fun-est one.